The present invention relates to a rotary electric machine and a method for connecting stator conductors used therein.
As coils used in rotary electric machines there are known, for example, a concentrated winding type coil comprising flat type windings such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2000-197294 and a coil wherein flat type conductors are mounted beforehand in a concentrated winding shape to a split core or an open slot core such as those disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open Nos. 10-66314 and 10-42528.
There also is known a lap winding type coil comprising flat type conductor windings such as those disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open Nos. 2000-350423 and 11-164506.
As a method for connecting coil tips there is known such a method as is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2000-164043 in which coil tips are formed with flat portions and are connected together.
According to the above publications 2000-197294, 10-66314, and 10-42528, it is necessary that the core be divided in a concentrated winding method using flat type conductors, so there occur an increase of iron loss and a lowering of magnetic flux density, with consequent fear of a lowering in output of the rotary electric machine.
The structures disclosed in the above publications 2000-350423 and 11-164506 are open slot structures, which are disadvantageous to winding of flat type conductors.
A typical object of the present invention is to provide a rotary electric machine having a winding structure which is not restrained by a core shape.
A typical construction of the present invention is characteristic in the following rotary electric machine:
A rotary electric machine comprising a stator core and stator coils inserted into slots formed in the stator core,
characterized in that flat type conductors preformed in U shape by molding are disposed in a stacked state within each of the slots of the stator core in such a manner that respective surfaces perpendicular to the radial direction of the stator core are wide surfaces, and side faces of preceding-stage winding terminal ends and side faces of succeeding-stage winding start ends of the flat type conductors, which are opposed to each other, are connected together in a lapped state to assemble the stator coils.